Alabama Baseball Routs No. 6 Arkansas in Game 1 of Weekend Series

The Crimson Tide blasted the Razorbacks in the opening game of the three-game set.

Ted McClenning / AllHogs

Something about the first game of a weekend series in Fayetteville.

Alabama Baseball went into Baum–Walker Stadium and left with a 12-1 victory over the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday night.

The Crimson Tide beat the Razorbacks 16-1 in the first game of the series in 2021.

It nearly did it again on Friday night.

Alabama's offense was lethal. The Crimson Tide (21-6, 3-4 SEC) stacked up 22 hits. Every batter in Alabama's lineup recorded at least one hit on the night. Four Crimson Tide batters had three hits — four had two hits.

Drew Williamson, William Hamiter, Colby Shelton and Mac Guscette all had home runs. 

The sixth-ranked Razorbacks (21-5, 4-3 SEC) had no answer on offense either. RHP Ben Hess started and threw four innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks.

The Alabama bullpen threw five shutout innings — including four frames from RHP Hagan Banks. Banks is yet to allow a run this season in 16.5 innings pitched.

“It was just our night," Alabama head coach Brad Bohanon said in a release. "It was one of those nights where we hit a lot of balls hard, everything that we hit found a hole and we pitched great. 

"Ben Hess gave us a really good start, and Hagan Banks was outstanding in relief. We out-hit a team 22-3 – that just doesn’t happen often. I’m really proud of our effort and hope we can carry this momentum into tomorrow.”

For Arkansas, the loss snapped a 15-game home winning streak.

The last time the Crimson Tide smashed Arkansas in Game 1, the Razorbacks responded and won back-to-back games to take the series. Alabama will look to avoid that this time around.

First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

How It Happened

See Also:

An Outlook on Alabama Baseball Moving Forward: Just A Minute

Alabama Baseball Storms Away Late to Pick Up 20th Victory of Season

Alabama Baseball Wins Series Finale on Wild Eighth-Inning Sequence Against Kentucky